Milestone in Energy Generating History - World's First Commercial Wave Power Plant Mutriku Inaugurated

MUTRIKU, Spain, July 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

With Photo

Today, the Basque seaport of Mutriku, located between Bilbao and San Sebastian witnessed a historical day in energy generation history. Utility Ente Vasco de la Energía (EVE) officially inaugurated the Mutriku wave power plant - the first worldwide in commercial operation. Voith Hydro supplied the equipment for Mutriku's 16 power units that will provide an output of 300 kilowatts in total - electricity sufficient for around 250 homes.

"The rising global demand for green energy proves to be a strong catalyst for the implementations of innovative forms of renewable energy. The Mutriku project shows: Our wave power technology is commercially viable and ready for wide deployment on the global markets," says Dr. Roland Muench, Chief Executive Officer of Voith Hydro Holding. "To further this development, adequate feed-in-tariffs for wave power, as they already exist for a number of renewables, can now set the right legal framework."

Voith Hydro's wave power technology can be deployed in new and existing breakwaters, and in purpose-built structures. Building on its long-term proven reliability, continuous design improvement have allowed for developing the technology to its leading-edge performance. The worldwide potential of the ocean energies is at an estimated 1.8 terawatts and still remains largely untapped.

Voith Hydro 's OWC (oscillating water column) technology is the only one that is proven with regard to commercial utilization, combining availability and efficiency on their highest levels. On the Scottish island of Islay, Voith Hydro has been operating the wave power plant Limpet for over a decade on a commercial scale, producing over 65,000 grid-connected hours.

Voith sets standards in the markets energy, oil & gas, paper, raw materials and transportation & automotive. Founded in 1867, Voith employs almost 40,000 people, generates €5.2 billion in sales, operates in about 50 countries around the world and is today one of the biggest family-owned companies in Europe.

A picture accompanying this release is available through the PA Photowire. It can be downloaded from http://www.pa-mediapoint.press.net or viewed at http://www.mediapoint.press.net or http://www.prnewswire.co.uk."

Further information:
Voith GmbH
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Markus Woehl
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